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SmarTech Publishing: 3D Printing of Electronic Devices to Generate More than $420 Million in 2022

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA--(Marketwired - October 20, 2016) - SmarTech Publishing has just published a new 124-page report that identifies and quantifies the commercial opportunities presented by 3D printing of electronic components and related circuitry. According to this report, Opportunities for 3D Printing in the Electronics Industry - 2016, this activity will generate $428 Million in revenues by 2022 and go on to achieve $2.8 Billion in revenues by 2025.

SmarTech Publishing is seeing growing interest in using 3D printing to fabricate customized circuitry, sensors and antennas, with longer-term applications possible for other types of electronic components. While the current focus is on prototyping, there is also clearly an opportunity to use 3DP for electronic devices that are regularly produced in relatively low volumes -- high speed optoelectronics and military/aerospace electronics are good examples here. In the consumer electronics space there is also a high potential 3D printers both for product design and for mass customization of products such as cell phone cases.

This report examines the revenue potential of 3D printed electronics, examining both actual fabrication and notable R&D at leading universities and research institutions. It provides coverage of five key sectors of the emerging 3D printed electronics business: multilayer PCB prototyping, prototyping of other components, low-volume manufacturing of electronic parts, consumer electronics design and mass customization of consumer electronics.

Ten-year volume and value forecasts are provided for each of these sectors with breakouts by type of printers, material chemistries, and service revenues. These forecasts also provide insight into the number of electronic parts that will be 3D printed over the coming decade. Today much of the limelight in 3D printed electronics is going to prototyping of multilayer PCBs, but the report also considers the market potential for both prototyping and direct manufacturing of antennas, interconnects, sensors, optoelectronic, devices, etc.

The initial market driver for 3D-printed electronics is to enable multilayer PCB prototyping without the costs and delays associated with service bureau. However, we anticipate that traditional prototyping shops, 3D service bureau and retail mass customization booths will quickly adopt 3D printed electronics. By 2022, service revenues from 3D printing will have reached well over $300 million. Specialist 3D printing service bureaus already exist in the aerospace and medical sectors and there is no good reason why such bureaus should not be created in the 3D-printed electronics space.

Much of the activity in the 3D printed electronics space for the next few years will be occasional-use prototyping, so revenues from the use of inks and powders for this sector is not expected to be large. For example, in 2022, we anticipate that revenues from materials for 3D printed electronics will be around $65 million. However, once 3D printers start to be used extensively to make low-volume electronic and optical components revenues will leap, reaching almost $300 million by 2024. There will also be a growing range of materials available for 3D printing electronics parts. While much of the activity today involves nanosilver inks, new 3D printed materials will emerge including nickel, semiconductor and optical inks.

The current excitement over printing of electronics devices has been driven by the appearance of a handful of firms that are offering specialist 3D electronics printer, sold with a number of semi-proprietary materials. Often these packages are aimed at those who want to prototype multilayer PCBs. For now, the established 3D printer firms have bigger fish to fry. However, over the next few years, we expect that the major 3D printing OEMs - Stratasys or HP, say -- will start to address electronics industry applications. Potentially, there are genuinely revolutionary leaps forward in which 3DP and nanomanufacturing capabilities are combined enabling 3D printing to occur at very high resolutions making (say) 3D memory chips a possibility for 3D printing.

About SmarTech Publishing:

Since 2013 SmarTech Publishing (www.smartechpublishing.com) has published reports on all the important revenue opportunities in the 3D printing/additive manufacturing sector and is considered the leading industry analyst firm providing coverage of this sector.

Our company has a client roster that includes the largest 3D printer firms, materials firms and investors. We have also published reports on most of the important revenue opportunities in the 3D printing sector including personal printers, low-volume manufacturing, 3D printing materials, medical/dental applications, aerospace, automotive, and other promising 3D market segments.

This has been ongoing in labs for many years. However, parts created are either prototypes, demonstrators or very simple structures that are usable but in small volumes. Presumably such activity will continue with perhaps the parts printed becoming more complex

The 3D printer is available and suited to the task; no strategic goal is intended.

Strategic prototyping

This is a consistent prototyping strategy for complex electronic parts such as multi-layer PCBs. 3D printers have only recently become available that are capable of this kind of sophisticated prototyping. However, suitable dedicated printers are becoming available and it seems likely that prototyping will be the place where 3DP will start to infiltrate the electronics industry

Lower cost than sending to a service bureau. More control over the design process. However, since a specialist printer may be needed, some up-front costs are involved

Low-volume manufacturing

We don't see much of this going on at the present time. However, there are certain areas of electronics where only small volumes of parts are required. This includes certain areas of military and aerospace electronics and parts for very high performance computers and data communications boxes. Optical as well as electronic devices may be printed in this way

Traditional semiconductor manufacturing using photolithography is primarily suited for large volumes. Small volume devices need to be manufactured to special order and may have to wait their turn at fabs. 3D printing may be able to reduce costs and lead times, but we note that the use 3DP for low-volume manufacturing appears to be some way off.

Mass customization

3D printing can easily be used for mass customizing consumer electronics. The most obvious example to date has been the use of 3DP to customize cell phone covers. However, Nascent Objects' technology discussed in the main body of this report shows that this type of approach can serve more sophisticated consumer, "maker" and designer markets

Makes customization affordable and appeals to the individualism associated with some market segments